Inside Umbra's Ruins ✓ [Umbra's Fate #2]

ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ: ᴀɢᴀᴛʜᴀ

If she opened the door, she might find a demon willing to kill her. If she didn't open it, the demon on the other side might get angry at her attitude and try to kill her anyway.

What was she supposed to do?

During Agatha's time in the mansion, Zagar never mentioned a name other than Borbala's. Outside of the day he took her to the council meeting, he also didn't let her out of her room. The only exceptions to her confinement were the supposed training sessions that for her were nothing more than an excuse to torture her.

And suddenly he wanted her to go out to eat with the other demons. After having told her that they were all dangerous to her.

"Are you getting ready to come with me? I don't think you have a choice and it's better for you to come with me than for Zagar to come and force you out."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"I can't confirm anything. I like your attitude, it's better not to trust all the demons that show up at your door. Maybe the fact that I'm still waiting on this side even though I have the key will tell you something."

The tip of a golden key poked out from under the door. There wasn't enough room for it to get all the way through, but Agatha recognized it.

"I'm going to open it, but first I need you to take several steps back."

"Got it! I'll stay by the wall." The sound of footsteps came from the hallway, they got lower and lower. "I'm done."

Agatha held the doorknob for a few seconds and looked up before opening the door. At least the demon had fulfilled her request.

A woman was waiting for her against the wall. She waved at her as she gave her a smile that reached her green eyes. Her long hair caught Agatha's attention, she was sure she had seen that same shade of green on someone else.

"I'm Varinia, nice to meet you. I can tell I'll be your favorite demon very soon." She didn't take a single step forward but motioned for Agatha to come closer. "We have to hurry, they're going to serve the food soon and our cook likes to respect the schedule, if someone is fifteen minutes late they can't eat. Follow me."

Varinia started walking, leaving Agatha with no choice but to follow her. They were only a quarter of the way down the hall when the demon turned around.

"By the way, don't look others in the eye. Some may take it as an offense and they'll want to rip your head off."

Agatha looked down, the black floor suddenly seemed the most interesting aspect of the mansion.

She paid attention to particular details, occasionally taking a quick glance at the walls. A slightly out of place floor tile, a mark on the red wallpaper in the second hallway, a strange painting of a tiger before going down the spiral stairs, and a small stain on the downstairs carpet; perhaps they'll be useful to remember the way in the future.

"You don't like to talk?" Varinia's words sounded more like an accusation than a question. "Aren't you bored? You can finally have some company after being cooped up for so long and you keep quiet the whole way."

It was a common comment in Agatha's world, no matter how hard she tried to pretend to be able to socialize like most, she always ended up hearing the same words.

Everyone could see that she was different, after her first years of high school she became convinced that people could smell her quirks, a single interaction was enough to leave her forever marked.

But this time it wasn't just her difficulties relating to others, Agatha was also terrified. The blood that ran down her thumbs, which she continued to tear the skin off, were proof of that.